The Ice at the Bottom of the World by Mark Richard

I tracked down this book of short stories by Mark Richard (pronounced the fancy way: rish ARD) after reading the first story in the collection, "Strays," in a college class. (You can read that story in its entirety on Amazon, by the way.) The stories paint a macabre yet funny portrait of the south--mostly the redneck, white trash south, replete with neglected children, drunks, and the like. I still think the first story that led me to it is the best though.